Sentiero del Barolo - Vineyard Walk in the Langhe

The Langhe hills south of Alba in the Cuneo province produce Barolo, the 'king of wines', and form part of the UNESCO World Heritage vineyard landscape of Piedmont, where waymarked walking routes such as the Sentiero del Barolo and the wider Barolo Wine Trail loops link the wine villages through a sea of Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera vines. A rewarding circuit of around 11 kilometres connects the village of Barolo, dominated by its castle that houses the WiMu wine museum, with the hilltop town of La Morra, whose belvedere terrace offers one of the most famous panoramas in the region, looking across the rolling cru vineyards to the distant snow of the Alps and Monviso. Between them the path passes the photogenic Cappella delle Brunate, a former vineyard shelter painted in bold colours by artists Sol LeWitt and David Tremlett, and threads through the named crus that give Barolo its character. With only around 320 metres of cumulative ascent spread over gentle hill country, the walk is easy to moderate, ideal for combining exercise with wine tasting at the numerous cellar doors and agriturismi along the way. The routes follow paved vineyard lanes, gravel tracks and quiet roads, waymarked by the local tourist board and apps, on a surface that is mostly easy underfoot though exposed to the sun. Unlike the high mountains, the Langhe can be walked across three seasons, with spring greenery, the dramatic autumn colours of the October harvest, and the famous white-truffle season around Alba in late autumn being particular highlights; midsummer is hot and the hills offer little shade. Villages along the way provide cafes, restaurants and wine shops, and the gentle terrain and short distances allow walkers to tailor the route to their pace and thirst. The combination of a UNESCO landscape, world-famous wine, hilltop villages and Alpine backdrops makes the Sentiero del Barolo the definitive Langhe walk.